North Korea threatened to end the “hard-won atmosphere of stability on the Korean Peninsula” on Thursday, in response to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s efforts to enforce economic sanctions against the regime.
“[T]here is no guarantee that the hard-won atmosphere of stability on the Korean Peninsula will continue,” the North Korean foreign ministry warned in a message carried by state-run KCNA.
Pompeo and other U.S. officials don’t want any international sanctions eased until North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un takes substantial steps to roll back his nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program. Kim’s diplomats have taken offense at this position, which the Trump administration believes is necessary to prevent North Korea from backsliding as the regime has in previous talks, and lashed out with a renewal of insulting rhetoric.
“[S]ome high-level officials within the U.S. administration are making baseless allegations against us and making desperate attempts at intensifying the international sanctions and pressure,” the foreign ministry said Thursday. “The international society is struck by this shameless and impertinent behavior of the U.S., and we also closely follow the U.S. behavior with high vigilance against their intentions.”
Pompeo is leading the Trump administration’s negotiations, while urging world powers and North Korean neighbors to continue enforcing economic sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council.
